It seems like a strange way for a normally ice-bound penguin to die, but experts on the Antarctic birds say the Calgary Zoo’s latest untimely fatality may just be a fluke of nature.

In a break with recent tradition, the demise of the female Gentoo penguin wasn’t officially made public — but staff at the zoo confirmed the December fatality, after the Sun learned of the death.

“Sadly on Monday, December 10, one of our female Gentoo penguins did die as a result of complications following a surgical procedure performed on December 2 to remove a large stick that she had swallowed when she was in the outdoor exhibit area.”

So reads the response from Calgary Zoo communications manager Laurie Skene, which clarifies the penguin didn’t actually choke to death, but likely died from damage caused by the stick.

“The post mortem examination showed that an area in her esophagus had abscessed after surgery which ultimately caused her death,” said Skene.

“(It was) very possibly a spot on the esophagus where the stick had been pressing which had caused tissue damage.”

It’s the second confirmed death of a bird at the zoo in recent months, with human error blamed for the loss of a great grey owl last fall.

The owl flew into the connecting gate and sustained fatal injuries while being transferred between holding areas, and two employees were disciplined for the error.

The penguin death, while raising questions about where the Gentoo got the stick, has one expert blaming a curious bird, rather than human error.

Dr. Steven D. Emslie, a zoologist at University of North Carolina Wilmington, says that while wooden sticks would be a rarity for penguins, Gentoos do range into areas where there’s more than snow and ice.

That includes the Falkland Islands, and Emslie — who has authored research papers on Gentoos — says he’s seen the birds build nests with bones, driftwood and the occasional stick.

He says sticks aren’t out of the range of natural possibilities for Gentoos, and it’s curiosity may have killed Calgary’s bird.

“A curious penguin will play with a lot of things — if one encountered a stick, it’s very possible it just picked it up and swallowed it,” said Emslie.

Zoo officials say they are unsure whether the stick in question blew into the enclosure, was thrown in, or whether the penguin pulled it off the decor inside the pen.

“We aren’t sure whether she managed to break a branch off of some of the exhibit ‘furniture’ or if the stick had been blown or inadvertently tossed into the exhibit,” said Skene.

“She actually didn’t choke on the stick, but keepers quickly noticed that she wasn’t eating as they monitor the fish intake of each penguin daily.”

The death may be chalked up to an unfortunate accident then, leaving only the question of why the zoo officially kept the death quiet, after a recent policy of candor regarding animal deaths.

At least that was the policy, following a 2010 public review of zoo practices and management which came on the heels of a spate of animal deaths linked to human error.

The zoo has kept an almost spotless slate since then, and part of that has included making the public aware of every death, from miscarriages to old age losses and even the odd mistake, like the owl.

Though Skene said zoo keepers have casually mentioned the penguin death to visitors, no official announcement was made until the Sun asked — and that of course, provides ammunition to critics.

Having already blasted the zoo for allowing Gentoos to escape the enclosure — some having reportedly leaped from their habitat into the viewing area — this latest mishap has groups like Zoocheck Canada crying foul.

“It certainly raises questions — including the fundamental problem of who is watching out for these animals,” said Julie Woodyer, spokeswoman for Zoocheck.

“When you don’t have staff watching what’s going on, you end up with situations like this — and when you allow people to get too close, you never know if it’s something someone has thrown.”